Soil Connection

Interaction design

Time

2024.9-2024.11

Role

Full-Stack Designer

Skills

Graphic Design
Interaction Design
Animation Design

The Challenge:
How might we
not only educates preschoolers about soil
but also deepens their connection with nature?

Soil is vital to our lives, and with increasing soil loss, protecting it is crucial—making soil education more urgent and essential than ever. Introducing soil education to preschoolers fosters early environmental awareness, helping them understand the importance of soil in nature and daily life. Hands-on learning encourages curiosity, sensory exploration, and a connection to the natural world. By teaching soil conservation early, we nurture responsible future stewards who appreciate and protect the environment.

The solution:
Soil connection is a service
that provide interactive exploration of soil
designed to engage and educate preschoolers.

Soil connection is a service that provide interactive exploration of soil designed to engage and educate preschoolers.

Research

Who are involved
in the kindergarten activities？

For regular activities, only the kids teacher and room leader are usually involved, but for theme activities, there will be a special organization to provide special services, and parents will be involved and sometimes there will be a special venue.

How regular activity works

The regular event follows a structured process: A teacher designs a soil activity and submits it to the room leader. The room leader secures the necessary tools from the school. Finally, children participate in the supervised activity, ensuring an engaging, educational experience that makes learning about soil both fun and informative.But teachers are always struggled with the ideas.

Design

Learning modules

I created several learning modules, such as 'Who Lives in the Soil,' 'Adventure to Stop Soil Erosion,' 'Soil Layer Cake,' and 'Soil Colour Palette.' For this project, I'll focus mainly on the 'Who Lives in the Soil' module as an example.

Service system

Here’s the design of entire service system: Kindergartens learn about our products and purchase our services. Teachers choose the corresponding module resources. Children engage in soil activities under teacher supervision, and teachers share experiences and feedback on our online platform

How does it work

In the 'Who Lives in the Soil' session, we start with Preparing: TouchDesigner and mapping are used to display the movement of soil organisms, making exploration fun. Labels help children learn about these creatures, while teachers cover safety issues. Then comes Playing and Learning: Educational sounds explain why these organisms are important to soil health. The first detected creature's information will be played. Finally, in the Creating stage, children are guided to use mud to make their own soil friends, guided by the projector.

Graphic & animation design

In terms of graphic design, I've chosen some general soil creatures that live in the soil. The characters are designed to be expressive and engaging, making the invisible world beneath our feet more relatable for children. This visual identity supports the interactive experience by making soil education both fun and memorable.

The graphic design for SOOOOIL CONNECTION brings soil life to the forefront with playful. The logo features an earthworm-inspired typography, reinforcing the theme of interconnectedness in soil ecosystems.

For the voice design, I used AI-generated voices to bring each soil creature to life, matching their personalities and movements. From playful worms to curious ants, each character has a unique tone, making the experience more engaging for children.

Prototype

This is my prototype, which includes various stages of testing and development. I explored different board materials for the physical setup, tested interactions in TouchDesigner, and laser-cut the soil creatures for projection mapping. The final test combined all elements—hand tracking, projection, and tactile components—to ensure a seamless and engaging experience for children.

Final outcome

The final result showcases the interactive soil education experience designed for preschoolers. Using projection mapping and hand tracking, the installation brings soil creatures to life, making learning engaging and immersive. Children can explore different interactions, such as digging in the soil to reveal hidden creatures. A short test at the end reinforces their understanding. This project demonstrates how technology can enhance environmental education, making complex concepts accessible and fun for young learners.